Filter.



Patented -May 3, 1910.

T. P. SEITZ.

FILTER.

APPLIoATIoN FILED JAN. 1a, 1909.

THEOBALD FRIEDRICH SEITZ, F KREUZNACH, GERMANY.

FILTER.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented, May 3, 1910.

Application filed January l2, 1909.` Serial No. 471,929.

To all whomi'it may concern:

'of several superimposed layers of Be it known that I, THEOBALD FRIEDRICH SEITZ manufacturer, a subject of the German mperor, and resident of Kreuznach, Rhineland, Germany, with the post-office address Bahnstrasse, No. 26, have invented new and useful Improvements in Filters, of which the following isa specification.

" My invention relates to filters and more 4particularly to a paper-like or cake-like slab` of filtering material for use in filters, and to the method of producing it, with the obi'ect in view of'providing a filtering unit, ayer or stratum in one integral piece and at the same time composed of sublayers or strata of different degrees of permeability in the direction of flow of the liquid being `filtered but of substantially uniform per meability in asingle plane of the substratum or layer at right angles to the direction of flow,whereby the liquid to' be filtered will be gradually freed from its impurities as it advances through the layer of filtering material and the filtering material may be cut or formed to fit filters of varying sizes and shapes and may be removed as a whole and replaced or exchanged.

With this end in view, my invention consists in a lter layer or unit (filter-paper, filter-cake or the like) capable of being inserted in filtering apparatuses and provided with ores which are of varying -neness in the irection of 4fiow of the liquid to be filtered. l

My invention further consists in the process for producing such a filtering unit.

The layers are preferably arranged in such a manner that a layer having a low degree of permeability has superposed thereon a layer of a'higher ldegree of permeability, and this, in the event more than two layers are employed, having superposed thereon a layer of still higher degree of permeability, o and so on; in other words, the layers are superposed in such a manner that the fineness of the fibers or the likenused in the production of the layers varies according to a definite ratio. A different serial order may however, be adopted for the arrangement of the layers, when rendered necessaryv for the treatment of any given liquid. l

In place of making the ltering layers bers of different permeability, each layer being of uniform density throughout, the several strata of the filtering material used may be made ofthe same material (fibers etc.) and the different degrees of permeabilit obtamed by subjectmg the fibers of the ifi'erent layers to different pressures. These fibers composing the substrata may be deposited one above another by a suspension process so that they will be of substantially uniform porosity throughout a single substratum, and this may be accom lished by allowing the water in which t e fibers are held in suspension to slowly drain off under gravity, or the water may be drawn from the material in a\ forcible manner by producing more or less of a vacuum beneath the material. This process is distinguished from the process where pressure is employed to force the water from the filtering material and which results in reducing the porosity of the filtering material in immediate proximity to the Walls employed for applymg the pressure while leaving the porosity greater intermediate of such walls, thereby producing a non-homogeneous body.

The accompanying drawings re resent two practical means of producing a fi tering unit embodying my invention.

Figure 1 is a diagrammatical section through a layer of filtering material, indicating several substrata of different degrees of finene'ss. Fig. 2 illustrates one way of depositing the several substrata, and Fig. 3 represents a second way of depositing several substrata.

Referrin to Fig. 1, the layer` a consists of the finest bers, the next layer b of coarser fibers, the layer c of still coarser ones, and filrllally, the layer d of the coarsest fibers of a When the liquid in course of filtration flows through the filtering material in the direction indicated by the arrow, the coarsest of the foreign matter is retained by the outermost layer d, while the finer foreign matter is retained by the other layers according to their several degrees of permeability.

The mass employed for making the filter may consist of any substance suitable for the purpose, such, for example, as cellulose, asbestos fibers, cotton fibers, etc. Canvas, metal cloth, etc. may be emplo 'ed as a base on which the filtering materia is built and reinforcing membranes' may also be embedded in or between all or any two ofthe layers -f the finer as maimed by the ane heri-w lsieve e is la1d on a support g, with suitable means' for preventing leakage. Above the an is mounted a box-shaped frame h, whlch 1s also packed at its junction with the pan to prevent leakage, and above the whole is a storage vessel z' with an outlet closed by a cock Ic. The storage vessel i contains the ltering material sus ended in liquid, and consistin for examp e, of cellulose, cotton bers, as estos bers or the like, in suspension. By means of the cock lc, the mass is allowed to ow from this vessel i into the box frame h, and to ll this to a predeter-v mined height. Then, by suddenly removing the support g or lifting the pan f together with the frame l1., the water 1n the latter is drained off, the mass thereby settlin down as a layer distributed quite uniform y over the sieve e. A second layer may be deposited on this rst layer by lling the box frame k either from the same storage vessel, orfrom another similar vessel containing a ltering material of different permeability, for instance, coarser bers thus forming a superimposed layer of diierent permeability, and additional superimposed layers Amay be formed one after another. Evenif the several layers be deposited from the same storage vesselwith bers of the same neness in suspension, the resulting ltering la er will y consist of a number of substrata of ierent permeability merging one into another because the thin layer rst formed is produced under slighter resistance than the later ones. Again, in the modified form shown in F ig. 3, the support g is replaced by a hopper Z closed at the bottom by a cock m. The cock m bcing closed, the hopper l is filled with liquid up to the level of the sieve e, so. that a very shallow layer of water covers the latter. The box frame h is now charged with the liquid containing the fibrous mass in suspension7 and this liquid is drawn ol through the sieve eby opening the cock m. In this' case, also, the frame it may be rfi-charged with bers of the same neness or coarser in suspension, so as to form the different layers. Here, also, for the same reasons as hereinabove stated, layers,formed from a single supply vessel will form a stratified deposit 1n which the strata have different degrees of permeability.

In the modication shown in 3, the

sieve pan is replaced by the sieve ame p.

y eeaeea In this instance the water owing from withmoved andthe sieve pan f or sieve frame p is placed in the ltering apparatus, not shown, along with the lterin ayer deposited upon it. A fresh sieve ame may be inserted into the device and the process may be repeated. A y The working height of the water which flows from the hopper can be regulated by attaching a ilexible ipe to the nozzle of the cock m and leadin its free end to the height to give the desire working pressure. lhis exible pipe is not shown in the drawlngs but may be of' any well known or approved form suitable for the purpose.

If it be desired to remove the filtering 080 layer from the sieve orsieve frame, a piece of canvas or metal cloth or the like ma be rst laid on the sieve frame or bottom o the sieve box and the layer of ltering material 'lol l may be deposited upon it. The lter layer or unit formed as above may be manufactured and sold independently of any particular lter and may be cut or fitted as may be desired.

What I claim is: y

l. A ltering unit' capable of being inserted in a lter apparatus, consisting of intimately connected strata, each stratum being homogeneous in respect to its porosity and the dierent strata having pores of dlerent degrees of neness, the several strata being arranged transversely to the directlon o ow of liquid therethrough.

2. The process of makin a unit of filtering material consistin in epositing by suspension in liquid an removal of liquid,`a stratum of bers having a greater degree of permeabilityon a previouslydeposited stratum of bers having a lesser degree of permeability, thereby iorming intimately connected but well dened strata of di'erent degrees of permeability.

In testlmony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signed my name in resence of two witnesses, this 31st day of 110 ecember 1908. v l

THEOBLD FRIEDRICH SEITZ.v

y Witnesses:

WILMLM GINDICE. MARTIN BAUER. 

